By Charlie Newton, G2FKZ
During the late 1940s, Scottish and Scandinavian radio amateurs noticed the strange 'hissing steam' CW signals emanating from the north during the 'northern lights'. As powerful FM broadcasting was introduced in the 1950s it was found that long-distance (DX) reception of these stations was possible via the aurora. Soon radio amateurs were using auroras for two-way contacts, to the astonishment of the professionals engaged in atmospheric research, and later on were able to make a significant scientific contribution to our understanding of this fascinating phenomenon.